Share This Story!

Broncos hold off Colts to reassert AFC supremacy

DENVER — There was no Super Bowl-blowout hangover for Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, who reasserted themselves as the AFC's best team in a 31-24 win Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts.

DENVER — With hours to kill before his team kicked off its season Sunday night, Denver Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton thought he'd find a distraction in afternoon football.

But as he flipped around the television dial to check out the NFL's early slate of games, all he saw was chaos. The New England Patriots lost in Miami. The Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens lost at home. Not that Knighton had doubted the importance of the Broncos' game against the Indianapolis Colts before — but those early outcomes only reinforced to Knighton and the Broncos just what was at stake.

"It crossed my mind. We HAVE to win this game," Knighton said. "We have to start well."

Hours later, Knighton's Broncos jumped to a 24-7 halftime lead against the Indianapolis Colts and held on to win 31-24 — and in the process, reasserted themselves as the AFC's best team. The Broncos haven't been shy about their Super Bowl aspirations, and on Sunday debuted a revamped team that they believe won't just be good enough to win another AFC title, but will be good enough to win it all — a team that is deeper, stronger, and nastier than the one blown out by the Seattle Seahawks seven months ago.

"It showed we are on a mission," Knighton told USA TODAY Sports. "The guys that were here, what happened in the Super Bowl, it's in the back of our minds. It's tough getting there and losing. But all that did was fuel us, we want to get back to where we were, get to Arizona."

After an offseason of reminders about their shortcomings — how their high-powered but finesse offense fizzled, and how the defense was short-handed and over-matched, the Broncos provided a resounding a reminder that the road to the Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., very likely could have to come through Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

Here, there were no jitters for Peyton Manning, playing his old team for the second time. All he did in his 2014 debut was toss three touchdowns, all to tight end Julius Thomas who finished with seven catches for 104 yards, to maintain the torrid pace he set last year when he won his fifth MVP award. He did it Sunday without his slot receiver-slash-security blanket Wes Welker, who is serving the first week of a four-game suspension, finding a more-than-adequate replacement in Emmanuel Sanders, who had six catches for 77 yards. Manning led a fourth touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, with Montee Ball's three-yard run ultimately being enough cushion amid yet another late comeback bid by Andrew Luck.

But there had been little doubt from the Broncos that Manning and the offense would be fine — even after losing a starting guard, wide receiver and running back in free agency. Everything the Broncos did in the months since the Super Bowl loss was about fortifying the team around Manning and becoming a team that could win with its defense, and not in spite of it.

The Broncos invested heavily this offseason in overhauling and healing up the defense, and in its first big test, the Broncos got big contributions from several of the new additions. Defensive end DeMarcus Ware had 1½ sacks, including one on third-and-goal in the red zone that that forced the Colts to settle for a field goal.

New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell (84) celebrates with center J.D. Walton (55) after catching a pass for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Andrew Weber, USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett (72) forces a fumble by Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) during the third quarter at CenturyLink Field. The fumble was recovered by Green Bay in the end zone for a safety.
Joe Nicholson, USA TODAY Sports

New cornerback Aqib Talib broke up three passes, including one in the first half that led to the first of Rahim Moore's two interceptions. Rookie first-round pick Bradley Roby, playing as the team's nickel cornerback, led the Broncos with seven solo tackles and broke up the Colts' final pass attempt of the game to preserve the win.

Those plays were nice, but for the Broncos' defense, Sunday's performance was also about asserting a new attitude. They were sick of hearing how they were the Broncos' weak link, and how they weren't tough enough.

The Broncos stuffed the Colts on third- and fourth-down plays in the third quarter, first with safety Quinton Carter and Roby standing up receiver Hakeem Nicks on the one-yard line on third down, with Carter driving Nicks backwards onto the grass. On the next snap, the Broncos thwarted Luck's attempt at a quarterback sneak with a swarming gang tackle that knocked Luck back several yards.

"It was something we practiced all week. Our coaches did a good job of preparing it for us. So when they called quarterback sneak — we knew," Knighton said.

But the Broncos defense nearly folded late and needed one more stand to quell Luck's comeback bid. As Denver's defensive players headed out of the locker room late Sunday night, they were thinking about Indianapolis' 24 total points, and especially the two fourth-quarter touchdowns, as they were reveling in their early success.

"We made some big plays in crucial times and just glad we got the win," safety T.J. Ward told USA TODAY Sports. "I know we played very well early, not so well at the end, but when it came down to it, we made the plays we had to go get off the field."

The Colts, meanwhile, could find only little consolation in their late comeback. The effort was there, and linebacker D'Qwell Jackson told USA TODAY Sports he was happy to see his teammates "didn't blink" even after falling behind 31-10 in the fourth quarter, but the game-changing plays were not.

"I'm confident that we'll see them again, and next time around we're going to be prepared for it," Jackson said. "They're the standard right now in the AFC. They were the team that was in Super Bowl. That's where we're trying to get to."